In vehicles used for transporting people, animals or freight, for the purpose of reducing the logistics expenditure during loading and unloading the vehicle it is common to use a carrying system with exchangeable containers and with receiving spaces that are suitable for accommodating the containers. In the containers, for example, goods to be transported or food to cater for passengers are/is accommodated.
For receiving all types of cargo, in particular in modern commercial aircraft larger containers in the form of cargo containers are used that comprise standardized dimensions, which containers prior to a flight are placed in a corresponding cargo compartment of the aircraft, and after the flight are removed again. For catering for passengers, frequently movable containers in the form of serving trolleys are used, which before and after a catering process are accommodated in suitable receiving spaces of aircraft galleys.
These two types of containers, which have been mentioned as examples, share a common characteristic in that they are moved very frequently and need to be brought into the vehicle from a location situated outside the vehicle, and need to be locked into place. At the same time, as a result of standardized dimensions, simplified logistics with very considerable flexibility in the use of such containers is provided, so that a multitude of different vehicles can be designed with any number of identical containers.
Apart from the actual purpose of storing whatever kind of items, the two container types mentioned as examples can also carry out additional tasks, for example the refrigeration of freight or of food. In trolleys that are presently in widespread use, for this purpose frequently a cold airstream, generated at a central location of the vehicle, is used for cooling. To this effect the trolleys comprise cooling air inlets through which the cold air can enter the respective trolley, in it can flow around food trays stored therein, before leaving the trolley through cooling air outlets. In order to ensure this refrigeration function it is thus necessary to slide a respective trolley into a receiving space provided for it, and to lock said trolley, so that a cooling air outlet in the receiving space is aligned with a cooling air inlet of the trolley. In the case of refrigeration of cargo in cargo containers that are arranged in a cargo compartment of the aircraft different refrigeration methods can be used, for example carrying along an adequate quantity of dry ice, or operating corresponding refrigerators in the cargo containers to be refrigerated, which refrigerators need to be connected, by way of plug-in connectors, to external current sources in the cargo compartment.
In order to obtain an unbroken refrigeration chain, during storage at a catering enterprise or transport enterprise both the trolleys and the cargo containers containing refrigerated cargo are refrigerated, wherein again cooling air or refrigerators is/are used.
Both establishing an aligned connection between a cooling air outlet and a cooling air inlet of a trolley, and establishing an electrical connection between an external current source and a connector socket of a freight container, is problematical in particular in the case of high frequency of usage and movement. With the use of any of a number of identical containers and the not always very gentle handling of these containers, it can often happen that containers that have been subjected to considerable wear and tear and that possibly have defective plug-in connectors are provided for use, which may have a detrimental effect on the quality of the cooling-air connection or the electrical plug-in connection. At the same time it should also be assumed that in the case of frequent use of electrical plug-in connectors impurities find their way into sockets, and consequently manual cleaning is required in order to be able to provide an adequately safe and reliable plug-in connection.